Dubai International Airport (DBX) is set to close, with UK travellers rerouted to the city’s second airfield – once its $35 billion expansion is complete.

Flights out of the popular UAE aviation hub will be moved as part of long-term plans to make Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) five times the size of DBX.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, confirmed that DBX will close, with every service moving to DWC, at the Arabian Travel Market last week.

He said that there is “little sense in operating two major hubs with such close proximity to one another”.

A record 92.3 million passengers passed through terminals at DBX, the world’s busiest airport for international travel, in 2024.

The increase in footfall from international tourists has put new pressure on the capacity of DXB, which is constrained on all sides by residential neighbourhoods and two major highways.

Last April, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that aviation operations would move to the city's second airfield.

DWC opened in 2010 with one terminal, 28 miles from DXB, and is backed by an empty desert. The airport has been primarily used for cargo airlines in the last 15 years.

According to plans, the expanded airport will include five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates – currently, flights take off and land on just two runways, the same as at DBX.

However, the new terminal at Al Maktoum is not set to open until 2032, with expansion work expected to continue into the 2050s.

Once complete, DWC will have the capacity to welcome 260 million annual passengers.

Dubai, a popular winter sun and relocation destination in the Middle East, is a firm favourite among UK holidaymakers, with an estimated 17,000 UK nationals arriving daily in the UAE hotspot.

DBX, which first opened in 1960, will be nearing the “end of its useful operating role” by the end of DWC development, said Griffiths.

For now, the airport remains the emirate’s primary aviation hub, with airlines including British Airways and Emirates both operating popular flight paths to DBX from the UK for the foreseeable future.

The full transition in operations to Al Maktoum International will take place gradually over the coming decades.

Plans are yet to be confirmed, but the area around Dubai airport will be redeveloped, likely into a space for real estate.

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